Suction cleaner



Nov. 2, 1937. c. BURKHARDT 2,098,028

SUCTION CLEANER Filed March 26, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVENTORlllzana'os Burkfiardl ATTO RNEY 1937. c. BURKHARDT sucmon CLEANER FiledMarch 26, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Giza/Ides Bur-Mara! ATTO RN EY PatentedNov. 2, 1 937 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE-f SUCTION CLEANER chinaBurkhardt, Canton, om. assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton,01110, a

corporation of Ohio Application March 26, 1936, No. 70,953

4 Claims. (Cl. 183-51) One of the important elements of a suctioncleaner is a filtering dust collector or dust ba into which theairstream, with the dust particles entrained therein, is discharged, theair being filtered through such bag while the dust particles areretained and collected thereby. Such dust ll bags are usually in theform of a bag of cloth or paper, or other suitable filtering medium, and

are usually provided with a narrowed mouth which is detachably connectedto the outlet from the body of the cleaner and suitably supported at theupper end from the handle of the cleaner.

In suction cleaners of this type the outlet is usually at the rear, ornear the rear, of the main body of the'cleaner and therefore spacedrearwardly from the point at which the pivoted handle is connected tothe cleaner body. Be-

cause of this spacing, it will be appreciated that, if the bag isattached'directly to the, outlet of the cleaner, it will be subjected toboth longitudinal tension and to bending, as the handle is swung up anddown in use. I

One of the objects of the present-invention is 'to provide a suitablemeans for connecting and supporting a suction cleaner bag which willentirely relieve the bag of tension and bending due to the pivotalmovement of the handle relative to the body of the cleaner. A furtherobject of the invention is to provide means for connecting andsupporting a suction cleaner bag which will relieve the bag of strainsand which at the same time will permit relative movement of the bag withrespect to the handle, and thereby lessen danger of injury to the bagwhen it is accidentally bumped against the body of the user,

-or furniture, or other obiecta- Further objects of the invention are toprovide means for-connecting and supporting a dust bag of this typewhich can be economically manufactured, which willbe durable. and whichcan be readily installed upon cleaners already manufactured withoutmaterial changes of such cleaner structure, and which will facilitatereplacement of the bag or other parts. Still further objects of theinvention and features of novelty will be apparent from the followingspecification when '55 read with reference to the accompanying draw-'ings, in which an embodiment of the invention is illustrated, and inwhich:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a suction cleanerembodying the invention, the handle being in its lowermost position; 5

I Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view, with parts of the handle andnozzle broken away, of the structure shown in Figure 1; t

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view in vertical section, taken on the line3-4 of Figure 1; 10

Figure 4 isa fragmentary view in vertical section, taken on the line 4-4in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a reduced fragmentary view in side elevation, similar toFigure 1, but showing the handle in its raised or storage position; and15 Figure 6 is a reduced view in side elevation similar to Figure 5, butshowing the handle in the lowermost position of the usual working rangeof handle positions.

In the drawings, a suction cleaner body, com- 20 prising a wide,forwardly-positioned nozzle 1 I, a fan chamber portion l2, having adischarge outlet at the rear thereof, and a motor casing portion M, ismounted on front wheels l5 and rear wheels I, the latter wheels beingprovided 25 with adjusting means I] by which they may be moved up anddown relative to the cleaner body in order to lift it, and soadjust thenozzle II to 'and from the underlying portion of the floor coveringwhich is to be cleaned. A rotary agi- 30 tator II is preferably providedand mounted in the nozzle l I, extending transversely therein, anddriven by a belt I! from a pulley, not shown, which is mounted on theshaft of a vertical axis motor which it will be understood is mounted in5 the motor casing portion ll, a fan 20 being also mounted on the motorshaft and positioned in the fan chamber l2. The bottom of the cleanerbody is preferably formed with an opening I 'through which access may behad to the motor 40 shaft pulley and fan and for removing the belt, suchopening being normally closed by a'removable cover plate 2|, held inplace by a latch 22. A rigid handle 23, which is preferably tubular, is

provided with a ball 24 at its lower end, which 45 is pivotallyconnected to the sides of the suction cleaner body at the point 25, suchpoint of connection being near the center of mass of cleanerbody so thatthe cleaner will be substantially balanced when it is lifted by means ofthe handle. The 60 ball 24 is preferably provided with a split socket 2,in which the lower end of the handle 23 may be clamped by abolt 21, andthe upper end of the handle is preferably provided with a curved gripportion 2|, a conductor cable 29 for supplystruction thereof constitutesno essential part of ing electric power to the motor being preferablyattached to the handle 28, through a cover plate 30, adjacent the gripportion 28, and a suitable electric switch 3i being likewise carried bysaid plate, it being understood that suitable connections are providedand extend downwardly in the handle 23, to connect the cable 29 and theswitch ii to the motor. It is also preferable that clips 32 be providedon one side of the handle 28, upon which the cable may be wound andstored when the cleaner is not in use. Suitable means for controllingthe position oi. the handle are provided. being shown herein as aslotted plate 83,

pivoted at 8% to the inner side of one fork of I the handle ball 26 andnormally urged in a Y counter-clockwise direction by a spring 35, a stud36 on the cleaner body being engaged in the slot in the plate 38. Withsuch construction, it will be understood that the handle will bepermitted free pivotal movement throughout a definite range upwardlyfrom. the position shown in Figure 6 and that when the plate member 38is depressed, the handle may be moved to the horizontal position shownin Figure. l, or may be moved to the vertical or storage position shownin Figure 5, in which latter position it will be releasably held. v

All of these parts, so far described, are of well hown construction andare not shown or described in detail inasmuch as the specific conthepresent invention. The parts may vary greatly as to detailed structure,relative size and location, and the present invention, which relates tothe connection and support of the dust bag, may be embodied'in anysuction cleaner which comprises a main body portion having an outlet fordust laden air and having a handle pivoted to such main body portion ata point spaced from the outlet of the main body portion of the cleaner.

According to-the present invention a dust bag 31, formed of porouspaper, cloth, or other suitable material, is provided with a reducedmouth 38 at its lower end which is detachably connected to a ring 39,which in turn is detachably connected to a ring 40, having a portionthereof connected by a hinge ii to a ring 62 which is detachablyconnected by nuts 43, or other suitable means, to a flange 44 on theoutlet l3 of the body of the cleaner. The means for connecting the bagmouth 38 to the ring 39 preferably comprises an expansible clampingmember mounted in the ring 39 for clamping the bag mouth against aninner concentric ring, such expansible member being contracted by alever, the construction corresponding to that shown in U. 8. Patent1,919,001, Harry B. White, issued July 18, 1933. The ring 39 may bedetachably secured to the ring 40 by a bayonet lock Joint or by a simplelatch, or by other suitable means. A flexible,

' extensible tubular member 45 is provided to connect the ring 42 to thering 40 and allow for their moved with the handle 28, an arm 66. isprovided on the-ring l0 and is connected pivotally at ill? to a link 48,the forward end of such link being detachably connected by a wing headedscrew 49 to the .stud 34 upon which the slotted handle-posia,oee,osa

tioning plate 33 is pivoted to the bail 241. From consideration ofFigures 1, 5, and 6, it will be apparent that the rings 39 and 40 willbe swung upwardly as the handle is swung, upwardly and will generallyfollow the movement of the handle, remaining substantially perpendicularthereto at all positions of the handle between. the horizontal positionsshown in Figure l and the vertical po-' sition shown in Figure 5. Theupper end of the bag 31 is preferably open, as manufactured, thematerial of the bag adjacent such end being gathered and folded over,and then held closed and supported by a clip 50 which is slid laterallyupon the folded portion and which is detachably secured to a hook 5iengaged therewith and carried by a tape 52 or other suitable supportingmeans, the upper end of which is attached to the handle 28.

It will be apparent that with this structure the bag will remain at alltimes substantially parallel to the handle, with the bag mouth at alltimes substantially perpendicular to the handle, while, at the sametime, the upper end of the bag is loosely supported from the handle sothat it can yield laterally and to some extent in other directions uponcontact with the body of the user, furniture, or other objects. The bagwill thus be relieved almost entirely from bending strain due .tomovements of the handle and it will likewise be relieved from endwisetension. It will also be apparent that the bag can be readily replacedor removed for cleaning, and that the bag supporting structure,comprising the rings 39, ill and d2, together with the flexible tube 55and operating link 48 and wing headed screw 49, may be readily attachedto cleaners heretofore manufactured, as a substitute for the bag and bagring usually attached by nuts such as nuts 43 to the outlet flange did,no alteration being necessary except the substitution for the usual stud34 of a stud which is threaded to receive the wing headed nut it.

It will be understood that many changes may be made in the details ofconstruction and in the size and shape of parts within the scope ofinvention which is defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A suction cleaner comprising a body provided .with a discharge outletand having an upwardly extending handle provided with ball arms pivotedto said body, a ring carried by said outlet and pivotally connectedthereto at a point spaced from the pivot of said handle bail arms, aflexible tubular member connecting said ring and said outlet, a dust baghaving its mouth connected to said ring, said ring having an arm rigidtherewith, and power-transmitting means operatively connecting said armand one of said bail arms.

.2. A suction cleaner comprising a body provided with a discharge outletand having an upwardly extending handle pivoted thereto, a ring carriedby said outlet and pivotally connected thereto at a point spaced fromthe pivot of said handle, a coupling ring detachably connected to .saidring, a dust baghaving its mouth'detachably secured to said couplingring and supported at its upper end from said handle, said ring havingan arm rigid therewith, and a link pivotally connected at its rear endto its said arm and extending forwardly and pivotally connected at itsforward end to said handle at apoint adjacent the pivot of the handle.

3. Asuction cleaner comprising a body provided with a discharge outletand having an upwardly extending handle pivoted thereto, meanscontrolling the position of the handle comprising .transmitting meansfor moving said ring with said handle connected to said handle at thepoint at which said handle positioningmember is secured to said handle.

4. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a body providedwith adischarge outlet and a handle. pivotally mounted thereon remote fromsaid outlet, a dirt bag adapted to communicate with the said dischargeoutlet, a support for the mouth of said bag having pivotal connectionwith said body at said discharge outlet, and a link pivotally connectedat one end to said bag mouth supporting member at a point radiallyoffset from its pivotal point and at its other end-with said handleadjacent its pivotal mounting on said cleaner body whereby the mouth ofsaid bag will 10 move substantially with said handle.

CHANDOS BURKHARD'I.

